Birding Ecosse Blogspot

Welcome to the Birding Ecosse blog, if it is your first visit then thank you very much for dropping in!

This blog will follow all my trips and tours, so if you have been out with me recently the chances are very high you will make an appearance! Most of the pictures on the blog are my own, however if I do use third party pictures I will have obtained their permission and will give them full credit.

It is designed to be a light hearted read to show how and where Birding Ecosse operates, so if you are thinking of booking a tour check out this Blog and my Blog Archives and then read through the Testimonials and you should get a flavour of what to expect! Great Birds, Great Scenery with Coffee and biscuits thrown in!  Please note: All  birds will have been viewed in a safe and environmentally accepted way, that is to say by using public access at all times or by the use of hides specifically erected for the observation of this species and by keeping at a safe distance and viewing through telescopes. Remember you can keep in touch via Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/dslaterbirdingecosse 

So sit back and enjoy the read, any feedback is appreciated.

Keep safe and keep Birding

Dave

April 2025 (so far!)

The fantastic birds just keep coming, below are some of the birds we have encountered so far this month:

The month started off at the beautiful RSPB Bempton Cliffs in the company of thousands of Gannets, an absolutely fantastic reserve.

March 2025 (so far!)

It has been a blistering month so far with some absolutely stunning birds, observed if beautiful Scottish Spring weather (with Snow storms as you would expect 🙂 ) and exceptionally nice victims!  What could be better!

Below is a small snapshot of some of the things we have connected with in recent weeks:

March is well into the Dipper breeding season, we have been really fortunate to have had multiple sightings at multiple locations this year, even hearing them give the mixture of chirpy and bubbly call. On the lower picture above you can see the bird preparing a snack, shaking the caddis fly larvae out of its protective shell.

Our local Eider Duck males are looking resplendent in their breeding garb, one of my favourites to photograph not only do the look stunning their call always raises a smile.

It is always nice when an unexpected bird turns up and this female Long Tailed Duck was one of those. Its face is just darkening up as it moves into breeding plumage, I wonder if a male will turn up and give such a fantastic show!

Turnstones are sometime overlooked by birders, a bit of a “bread and butter” bird, but next time just take a minute to appreciate their plumage, especially at this time of year when they start showing for breeding plumage, the lower picture shows some of the “ruddy” brown feathers showing, which lead to the birds full name of “Ruddy Turnstone”

Coming towards the end of their season it is always nice to catch up with a Snow Bunting or two, this year they have performed well giving some great shows, the numbers were beginning to fade away but a late spell of heavy snow on the mountains brought them all back to their usual winter grounds where they feed on seeds left out by the photographers!

Whilst not being a rare duck the early spring sunshine just illuminated this Eurasian Teal, one of my favourite ducks (second only to Mr Eider)

Roosting Sanderling

Redshank, Knot and Turnstone sharing a roost

Redshank

Purple Sandpipers braving the waves

Oyks in display mode “Piping”

Waders were one of the many highlights up here on the Moray Coastline, many getting ready to head north to their breeding grounds, whilst other made their way up into the Scottish Glens and lochs to breed, I real sight and sound of Spring.

Another bird that birders skim past is the common, always around somewhere, Mallard, this was a roosting male and once again the iridescence on the head feathers is just beautiful.

Whenever you are near a sizeable chunk of water you will hear a loud trilling “whinnying” call, another sound of summer, and the culprit?  This little Grebe looking dapper now in its full breeding regalia.

And finally, just sitting outside the March roundup (actually seen at the very end of February) one of the “big ones” the Golden Eagle, this picture is pretty well cropped to death, but through the binos it was an breath taking encounter.

So that’s us caught up, if any of this has whetted your appetite then go to our tour pages here Birding Ecosse – Birdwatching tours throughout the highlands have a peruse, if anything takes your fancy then just get in touch, I look forward to speaking with you.

February 2025

Your new tour vehicle a spacious and comfortable Peugeot 5008, air conditioned, three full seats in the rear a top notch tour vehicle!